Headphone Room Impulse Response via User Speech
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for creating realistic augmented reality audio environments face challenges in obtaining accurate data about the user's audio environment, particularly in generating room impulse responses without using loudspeakers and test signals, leading to inaccuracies in reverberation time estimation.
Innovation Solution
A headphone system utilizing a binaural positioning unit with internal and external microphones to calculate the room impulse response using the user's speech as a reference signal, employing a normalized least mean squares adaptive filter to process and convolve sound signals, thereby eliminating the need for test signals and enhancing environmental data acquisition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional loudspeaker-based methods are used to measure room impulse response, then measurement accuracy can be achieved, but system complexity and portability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the user's own speech as the reference signal for measuring room impulse response, eliminating the need for external loudspeakers and test signals. The user's speech naturally provides the necessary acoustic reference, allowing the system to self-calibrate without complex external equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the reference signal from the user's speech rather than requiring an external loudspeaker to generate test signals. By taking out the reference signal generation function from the traditional loudspeaker-based system, the patent simplifies the overall system while maintaining measurement capability.
2Loss of information
If loudspeaker-based test signals are used to generate room impulse response data, then accurate environmental data can be obtained, but portability and practicality are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the user's own speech as the reference signal, making the system self-sufficient and portable. No external loudspeakers or test signal generators are needed, as the user's natural speech provides the necessary acoustic reference for environmental characterization.
Solution Approach 2:
The user's speech serves multiple functions: it is both the audio content being processed and the reference signal for room impulse response measurement. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate test signals and loudspeakers, enhancing portability.
3Ease of operation
If conventional methods without sound generation are used to estimate reverberation time, then portability is improved, but measurement accuracy and additional data generation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the user's speech as both the audio signal and the reference for measuring reverberation characteristics. This self-service approach allows the system to maintain portability while achieving accurate measurements, as the user's speech naturally interacts with the room acoustics to provide the necessary measurement data.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for accurate and portable generation of realistic audio environments by directly calculating the room impulse response from user speech, improving the realism of virtual sound sources and reducing noise interference, making it suitable for various audio environments.
Implementation Method 1
an internal microphone located on the inside of the ear unit for generating an internal sound signal, and an external microphone located on the outside of the ear unit for generating an external sound signal
Implementation Method 2
at least one reverberation extraction unit connected to the microphones, arranged to extract an acoustic response of an environment of the headphone system from the internal sound signal and the external sound signal
Implementation Method 3
a loudspeaker for generating sound
Implementation Method 4
The binaural positioning unit may be arranged to generate the processed sound signal by convolving the input sound system with the room inpulse response
Data Source
AI summary
A headphone system includes sound processor which calculates properties of the environment from signals from an internal microphone and an external microphone. The impulse response of the environment may be calculated from the signals received from the internal and external microphones as the user speaks.